Charged with the task of picking a Wales player of the season, there was no real need to look beyond a short-list of five I had helped compile for our WalesOnline website.

Charged with the task of picking a Wales player of the season, there was no real need to look beyond a short-list of five I had helped compile for WalesOnline

Alex Cuthbert, Jonathan Davies, Ian Evans, Leigh Halfpenny and Dan Lydiate were the fellows we put forward for our readers’ poll, with each of them having a reasonable case for winning.

Chop-tackling blindside flanker Lydiate was the official player of the tournament as Wales stormed to a Six Nations Grand Slam last February and March and so had to be a contender.

His destructive qualities and physicality at the breakdown were key components in a third European title coming home in eight campaigns and the Dragons man, soon to depart to French rugby, was sorely missed during Wales’ autumn whitewash.

Lydiate, who is tipped to join big-spending French out-fit Racing Metro in Paris, suffered a broken ankle last September and is unlikely to be available for his country until part of the way through this season’s defence of the Six Nations.

Cuthbert? He burst on to the professional scene with the Blues at the start of last term and was fast-tracked into Warren Gatland’s Wales squad within a matter of weeks.

The 22-year-old has rattled up five tries in 13 international appearances, the lethal finisher touching down for a crucial score as Wales saw off France to clinch the Grand Slam at the Millennium Stadium in March.

He got another in Australia as Wales narrowly went down in all three Tests last summer and it was plain to see how hurt he was by the defeats by his reaction.

Clearly Cuthbert is made of the right stuff and possesses the winning mentality which top sportsmen and women need.

Despite still being raw and inexperienced, there’s not any sign of him suffering from the so-called second-season syndrome despite his region Blues being awful this campaign with nine defeats in their last nine fixtures.

As for Ian Evans, he came from virtually nowhere after three years of battling a variety of serious injuries to re-establish his credentials in the toughest arena of the lot.

His chance only came because of serious injuries suffered by World Cup lock heroes Luke Charteris and Alun Wyn Jones.

But the towering forward responded to the challenge to such a degree he was the only Wales player to play every minute of the Six Nations campaign, providing a glut of clean lineout possession and working hard in the loose.

But Evans lost his place in Australia after missing the opening Test because he was getting married and struggling because of jet-lag during the rest of the tour.

He was reinstated for the autumn campaign but didn’t last long as the lock curse. which also accounted for Jones and Bradley Davies, struck again and he was ruled out of the big games against New Zealand and Australia by a knee injury.

Jamie Roberts might be the big name in the Wales centre following his exploits with the 2009 Lions but he was overshadowed by his midfield partner Jonathan Davies, not only at the World Cup but during the Six Nations.

Davies is a finisher – grabbing two vital tries as Wales edged out Ireland to get the Grand Slam bandwagon underway – a strong defender, and his distribution skills have shown signs of improvement to mark him down as a real contender for a Lions Test berth in Australia next summer.

However, he missed Wales’ autumn defeats against Argentina, Samoa and New Zealand because of a groin problem.

In fact, only two players on the WalesOnline short-list – Cuthbert and Halfpenny – haven’t had to miss internationals through injury.

And it is the remarkable Halfpenny, as far as I’m concerned, who is the outstanding candidate to be Wales player of the year.

The courageous full-back has been simply phenomenal for his country.

His goal-kicking has been deadly with his composure under pressure and continuing ability to land goals from deep, a wonderful asset.

He had the nerve to land the last-minute penalty which gave Wales victory in Dublin and bagged a couple of tries against Scotland.

Those two touchdowns contributed to a 66-point haul all told, his marksmanship as a kicker proving vital in the narrow wins over Ireland, England and France.

What’s more, it was a rugby miracle he had made the start of the tournament, his determination and professionalism seeing him overcome a serious ankle injury much quicker than medics had anticipated.

Halfpenny did everything he could in Australia, amassing 41 points in the three Tests, and was the stand-out Welsh figure during a compelling series.

And while the autumn campaign was a damp squib for Wales with players out of form and an exhaustive injury count, one player stood out for the right reasons – Halfpenny.

He gave everything to the cause but ended the series on a stretcher, with neck damage, after putting his body on the line during the final minute of the last Test in an effort to prevent Australia scoring the winning try.

The 23-year-old might have come off worse when he nailed Wallaby forward Dave Dennis but he’s got my vote for Walesonline player of the year. He’s been simply the best. Simple as that.

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